The click of her heels could be heard over the sound of the midmorning traffic. Other pedestrians made way for her as if she was emitting some kind of aura of power. She walked into a store to get her daily coffee, not having to wait in line like everyone else. She didn't use her gift for much personal gain anymore, but she could admit she liked this. As she crossed the street after leaving the coffeehouse, she looked up at her building, sadly not able to oppress thoughts of new decoration. Some part of her would always remain Aphrodite's daughter.
She walked through the doors to the elevator. Pressing the up button, she stood looking at the metallic silver doors common to elevators. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man walk up to her.
"So Piper, have you reconsidered my offer?" He asked.
Piper sighed, before turning and looking the man strait in the eye. "No, and I never will. Get it through your head that I don't want to go out with you. I have a boyfriend. Leave me alone."
She watched as his eyes glazed over, before he mumbled, "I will leave you alone." He wandered back over to where he had stood, and by this time, the elevator arrived. Piper walked through the doors, and turned to face the front of the building. She saw her charm spoke coworker shake his head, clearing the spell from his mind, and gave a humorless smile, knowing he would be back tomorrow.
The doors closed, and she felt the machinery carry her up to the seventh floor, all the while thinking that Leo would have loved to get his hands on it and make it better. But Leo was with Calypso and Piper was in the city. The doors opened again, and Piper hurried out, eager to repress the memories of the war.
The only reminder she could stand was Jason, but he was in Camp Jupiter, attending their university.
"Piper, good, you're here. We got another one."
Piper closed her eyes in anger. The fifth kidnapping in two weeks, but she couldn't do anything until she could interrogate a suspect. All of the family members so far were clean, but Piper was beginning to lose hope of ever finding the four, now five, girls.
"Are the family members ready for me to see them?" She asked.
"That's the thing. We don't know who the kidnapped girl is. A passerby saw her get snatched off the street this morning, about the time when she would be walking to school, so the parents won't even know she's missing for a couple more hours. The witness is in room 4."
Piper thanked him before hurrying over to her favorite place in the world-other than being in Jason's arms- the interrogation room.
She walked in and pulled out her chair. Sitting down, she looked at the girl sitting across the table. She looked nervous, and Piper couldn't blame her. She had just witnessed a kidnapping.
"Hello." Piper said soothingly. "My name is Piper. What's yours?"
"Brooke," she mumbled back.
"That's a pretty name, Brooke. Why don't you tell me what happened, okay?"
Brooke nodded, before tucking a price of her hair behind her ear. "I was walking to school because my car broke down. Normally I drive, but I go a different way because of the light schedule. I had just turned a corner when I heard a girl screaming on the other side of the street. I looked over and saw a man holding a girl from behind and forcing a rag onto her nose. She stopped struggling, and he put her into his car and drove off."
Piper didn't want to ask her anymore questions, but knew she had to save the girls, so she continued. "What did she look like? Was she wearing a school uniform?"
Brooke tucked her hair behind her ear again before responding. "She was tall, almost as tall as her attacker, I'd say around five ten. She had long, blonde hair, almost to her lower back, but it was in a ponytail. She was in a black uniform. It had a logo on the sleeve, but I couldn't see what it was of."
"Thank you," Piper responded. "Can you describe the man?"
Brooke nodded, causing her hair to fall in her face. She pushed it back again.
"He had short brown hair, looked to be in his late forties or early fifties. He was caucasian, and maybe six foot."
Piper smiled- finally they had a step in the right direction. She pulled a hair tie off her wrist and handed it to the girl. She smiled back at Piper.
"Do you think you could be able to describe them to a sketch artist?" Piper asked.
Brooke nodded, and Piper stood up and walked out of the interrogation room. She walked over to the break room, and upon seeing a redhead rummaging through the fridge, smiled.
"Rachel," Piper greeted," I'm so glad you are here. I need you to be a sketch artist for the day. Our normal one is on vacation, and since you are already here, will you help?"
Rachel turned around and smiled. "Of course, Piper. I would love to. Room 4, right?" Piper smiled and nodded her head, watching the Oracle walk over to the room with a drink in each hand. Piper chuckled before walking over to her desk and sitting down to do paperwork. She had barely started the tremendous pile sitting next to her when Rachel walked back out and over to her.
"Here you go," she said, handing over two profiles.
Piper took them from her before walking to the case board and taping the girls description next to the others. The mans she walked over to another officer. "Get this photo on every network out there." He took the drawing from her and practically ran out of the building. Piper turned and headed back to her desk, reviewing over everything she knew about the case so far.
At nine the next morning, when she headed to work, Piper prepared for the worst. By now, the girls parents would be aware of her disappearance and probably be down at the station waiting for news. Skipping her morning coffee, she made it to her desk just in time to see her superior walking a grieving couple over to her.
"Are you the girls parents?" she asked, getting strait to the point.
The woman immediately answered. "Yes. Do you know who did this?"
Piper led them over to the crime board, pulling off the photo of the suspect that had been returned after being circulated. "this is the man that was witnessed forcing your daughter into his car. Do you recognize him?"
The man shook his head, but the woman gasped. He was at my daughters school a couple of days ago. That same day, she said that her substitute teacher was looking at her strangely. This is probably him."
"What school does she go to?" Piper asked, happy for the lead.
"New York Private Prep. on Long Island."
Piper smiled, thanked the two people, and ran to the elevator. The moment she was out the door, she was already calling a taxi, using as much charmspeak as she possibly could. Three screeched up to her with in seconds, and she jumped in the closest.
She shouted where to go as quickly as she could, telling the cabbie to step on it as well.
It took less than 15 minutes to get to the school, and Piper almost forgot to pay the driver before rushing in and demanding to see the person in charge of hiring substitutes. Her charmspeak convinced them with little effort, and within the hour she had found out the kidnappers name.
He was scheduled to sub again in an English class later that day, and Piper quickly called back to the station to let them know. Her partners were already out the door and on their way before the phone call was up. They had arrived within 10 minutes of the class starting. Her partners and she all recieved passes labeling them as visiting parents, and 15 minutes into the class, the all too cooperative principal walked into the room with them trailing behind.
"Hello class. These are prospective parents who are interested in sending their children here to N.Y.P.P. If they have any questions, please answer them."
With that, the man walked out, closing the door behind him. It shut with an audible click.
Piper stepped forward. "Hello. My name is Mrs. McLean. Why, don't you students look adorable? It makes me just want to snatch you all up. Wouldn't you agree?" She directed the question at her suspect.
He began to look nervous.
"And they all look so diligent. Working even when one of their own," she gestured to an empty seat," is kidnapped." She sighed in fake admiration.
He started to sweat, wiping his palms off on his pants.
"Did any of you know that?" All of the students shook their heads.
"Oh, that's too bad." She turned to the teacher. "Did you?"
"N-no." Piper smiled.
"I think you did. Give up. We have you surrounded."
The sub instead lunged forward before any of the detectives could react, dragging a girl out of her seat and in front of him.
"Let me go, or I'll kill her!" He grabbed scissors off of the desk and held them up to the girls throat. Piper's partners had their hidden weapons out in an instant and pointed at the two people. The students shrieked in fear.
Piper was the only calm one in the room.
"Calm down, children, please."
The whimpering stopped immediately.
"Put the scissors down."
They clattered to the floor.
"Release your hostage."
She ran behind her desk the moment she was free.
"Put yours hands behind your head."
He looked confused as his arms betrayed him.
"Walk over to me."
The man's eyes clouded over as he was fully under Piper's control.
She turned to the students that were sitting in their desks unafraid. "Good bye. You'll be seeing your friend here tomorrow as usual."
With that, the group walked out of the room and off school property.
The suspect sat in the same interrogation room Brooke had been in the previous day. Piper was happy that they found the kidnapper, and now there were only two things left to do.
She sat down across from him.
"Tell me where the other girls are." She spoke clearly, writing down what he told her onto a paper waiting for her.
She handed it off to another detective who immediately walked out with his team right behind him. Piper smiled that the girls were finally going home to their families.
She turned back to the man cuffed to a chair in front of her.
"And now,"
She slid another paper and a pen over to him and smiled.
"Confess."